PFF scouting report: Vernon Adams, QB, Oregon

Below is the PFF draft profile for Oregon’s Vernon Adams, which incorporates PFF’s college grades and scouting intel from our team of analysts. To see all of PFF’s 2016 scouting reports, click here.

Position fit: Developmental QB. Has intriguing arm and athleticism to develop

Stats to know: +13.5 overall grade ranked 21st in the draft class, but graded at +18.1 over his last four games including the East-West Shrine Game. Accuracy percentage on deep passes was second in the class at 56.5 percent

What he does best:
• Makes big plays. Big-time throw (BTT) percentage of 6.97 percent ranks third in the class
• Works through progressions, can hit throws on the backside of plays
• Intermediate and deep accuracy was among the best in the class
• One of the most accurate in the class on over-the-shoulder throws (32.1 percent)
• Ball location on passes thrown between 20 and 40 yards is among the best in the class
• Good athlete, can make plays with his legs
• Graded at +5.0 against pressure, still averaged 9.6 yards/attempt
• Can make plays with his legs. Averaged 7.0 yards per carry on 27 scrambles

Biggest concern:
• Ball location on short passes is poor. Will badly overthrow screens
• Timing is not good in the passing game. Will sometimes pass up easy reads, however this does work in his favor at times and is part of his big play ability. But may not be suited to run an efficient, short passing attack predicated on good timing
• Will stare down targets
• Did not have many tight windows to hit and ball location was among the worst in the class at 11.5 percent against tight coverage
• Struggled early in the season, was it just the new system and a hand injury?

Bottom line: With a strong second half to the season combined with his big-play potential, Adams is an intriguing prospect in a developmental role. He struggled in the short game, but he’s the kind of player that can win games with downfield throwing and athleticism. That’s worth bringing into camp at least as a backup with hopes of getting him on a Tyrod Taylor plan down the road.